Reading and Writing about Comics ala McCloud, Part 1

I chose the comic entitled "But No One Ever Noticed the Walrus". I was drawn to this comic because for some reason, I feel like I always notice those who nobody pays attention to, and I end up feeling awful for them. So, I engage them in conversation, and try to "notice" them.
This comic takes place in a busy Law Firm, in which a lot of drama occurs within employee relations. In one day, two employees fight, make up, and make love, while someone participates in National Talk Like Pirate Day, an employee makes a huge financial mistake, and another is fired for the mistake. Meanwhile, a very sweet walrus is ignored for the whole day, while all of this drama occurs directly in front of him.
[McCloud states on page 36 of his book entitled, "Understanding Comics The Invisible Art" that we identify ourselves in the cartoons we see, and I couldn't agree more. When I was young, I felt as though no one paid any attention to me. I was always ignored, unless I was needed for something. I think this is why I notice the wall flowers in the room...I know those feelings. I always want to help those in need, and I am bothered with I do not/cannot. I was given a sense of sadness for the walrus because he is drawn to look unhappy.
Chapter 5 of McCloud's book is dedicated to how vital an "emotional or sensual response" is in the world of comics. We all know what it feels like to have a busy day at work, to fight with a fellow employee, and to experience loads of drama in the workplace. Perhaps some of us even know what it is like to have a romance at work. Whatever the case, McCloud plays upon this idea of crazy amounts of emotion at work, all while a walrus needs to be seen. We all pay too much attention to our own feelings, even in a place where we are supposed to take care of others. However, I think the setting of this comic also plays an important role. Being that it is in an important law firm, it is a little more understanding why the walrus would be ignored. Though he is different (heck, he is a walrus in a suit!), the "snobs" working there are far too egocentric to notice anything but themselves. If this comic were placed in a hospital setting, it would have been much more sad...what if the walrus was sick, or dying, and the nursing staff were behaving the way the secretaries were?
McCloud includes an "interlude". This makes us feel like we are watching a TV show, something like "Boston Legal" where sex, crime, and lunch are all included in a sixty-minute time period. The only person who actually notices the walrus and gives him the time of day is the person who is also treated as the walrus. She is only represented in two or three frames before the conclusion of the comic, as if she is unimportant to McCloud as well. We see the use of sequential art throughout this comic, as well as duo-specific panels, where the "words and pictures send essentially the same message." (153). In fact, in some frames, we don't even read any words and still know whats going on, i.e. the scene where Stephen and Cathy begin making love (or making hearts!) McCloud, through his Morning Improv, is telling us to lighten up, because not everything is simply about us and our feelings. Many times we do not see what is right beneath our noses, and it just may turn out to be the best thing (or in this case, friend) we've ever seen.